Umbrella construction

ABSTRACT

An umbrella construction which includes an umbrella staff, an inflatable ring circumscribing the staff, a cover extending from the upper end of the staff and connected to the ring, and a veil extending from a lower portion of the staff to the ring and coaxial with the cover. The umbrella, in deflated condition, converts into a carrying case.

United States Patent 15] 3,683,947 Muller 1451 Aug. 15, 1972 [54] UMBRELLA CONSTRUCTION 2,554,688 5/1951 Vollweiler ..135/5 R 72 I t 2,753,878 7/1956 Halberstam ..135/20 B 1 ggfgj x ifg z we 2,827,066 3/1958 Nussbaumer ..135/20 B 22 Filed; March 27 7 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 21 A 1 N 2317 689,130 /1930. France ..l35/20 B l 1 pp 1,464,750 11/1966 France .....135/ B Related US. Application Data Primary Examiner-David J. Williamowsky [63] (zlgnlngngtftion-ngpart of Ser. No. 692,922, Dec. Assistant Examiner David Corbin aban oned' Attorney-Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman 52 us. (:1 ..l/20B 135/33 c 57 ABSTRACT 51 1111.01. ..A'4sb 19/02 1 53 p f Search 135/5 R, 16, 20 B 33 An umbrella construction which includes an umbrella 190/1 stafl, an inflatable ring circumscribing the staff, a cover extending from the upper end of the staff and connected to the ring, 'and a veil extending from a [56] Referenm cued lower portion of the stafi to the ring and coaxial with UNITED STATES PATENTS the cover. The umbrella, in deflated condition, con- 1,41 1,560 4/1922 Beaty ..135/20 B vens a canymg case 2,070,484 2/1937 Jones ..l35/5 R 1 Claim, 19 Drawing Figures ilo i Z6 14 4 "My 32 s 36 u 1 l F l6 l6 40 Patented Aug. 15, 1972 3,683,947

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I .'\'FI\'TOF? ARMAND AMULER Patented Aug. 15, 1972 3,683,947

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I.\'\E.\'TOR. ARMAND A MULLER Patented Aug. 15, 1972 3,683,947

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ARM A. MULLER ma WW4 A TTORXEYS Patented Aug. 15, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

End-I HmwmwE INVENTOH ARMAND A. MULLER ATTORNEYS UMBRELLA CONSTRUCTION This is a continuation-in-part of pending patent application Ser. No. 692,922, filed Dec. 22, 1967, now abandoned, entitled Inflatable Protective Device.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved umbrella construction, which is simple in fabrication, which eliminates the conventional ribs of an umbrella which often cause breakage and wear, and which is nonetheless strong and not prone to collapse by the forces of wind.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an umbrella construction of the character described in which the umbrella may be folded into a carrying case, which is particularly useful when the umbrella is used as a sun umbrella at the beach.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an umbrella construction of the character described which, although made from relatively few and simple parts, is extremely strong as compared to conventional umbrellas, even though it is collapsible when not in use.

In general, and in accordance with the teaching of the present invention, there is provided an umbrella construction which includes an umbrella staff and an inflatable ring which circumscribes the staff. A cover, formed of a sheet of material, runs from the upper end of the staff to the ring, the upper end of the staff being fixed to the center of said cover and the outer periphery of said cover being fixed to the inflatable ring. The umbrella construction further includes a veil, also formed of sheet material, which is generally coaxial with the cover and which also runs from the inflatable ring to a point on the staff below the point of the attachment of the cover. When the ring is inflated, both the cover and the veil will be relatively taut, causing a relatively rigid construction which does not require any umbrella ribs and which is quite strong. Both the cover and the veil may be removed from the staff, and fold lines are provided on the cover and the veil so that the umbrella can be readily formed into a carrying case for both the staff as well as any other desired article.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrativeembodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken into conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the umbrella construction of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the first embodiment taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the first embodiment with the inflatable ring thereof deflated;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the umbrella canopy;

FIG. 5 shows a step in the folding of the umbrella I canopy in order to form a carrying case;

FIG. 6 shows the umbrella canopy transformed into its carrying case mode;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the umbrella construction of the present invention;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are top plan and bottom plan views, respectively, of the canopy of the second embodiment, the inflatable ring thereof being deflated;

FIGS. 10 and 11 show two successive steps in the folding of the umbrella canopy in order to form a carrymg case;

FIG. 12 shows the second embodiment fully converted into its carrying case mode;

FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the umbrella construction of the present invention;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are top plan and bottom plan views, respectively, of the canopy of the third embodiment, with the inflatable ring thereof deflated;

FIG. 16 shows the umbrella canopy of the third embodiment partially folded, and in the process of being formed into a carrying case;

FIG. 17 shows the third embodiment fully converted into a carrying case mode;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the umbrella construction, shown in the form of a beach cabana; and

FIG. 19 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the fourth embodiment, taken substantially along the lines of 19-19 of FIG. 18.

Referring now in general to the drawing, FIGS. 1 through 6 illustrate a first embodiment 8 of the umbrella construction of the present invention. Said umbrella construction includes, as is conventional, an elongated central staff 10 which, if desired, may terminate at its lower end in a handle 12. Desirably, the staff is of the conventional telescoping type, whereby the length thereof may be considerably diminished for storage purposes.

The umbrella construction further includes an inflatable ring 14 which is of tubular internal construction. In the present embodiment, the ring is circular in plan. The ring 14 may be formed of any material which will retain air under pressure, and :many types of plastic fabrics or natural fabrics are sufficient and are accepted in the art for this purpose.

A valve 16 is provided to permit air to be forced into the ring for its inflation. The passage of air into the ring for the purpose of inflating the same may be effected by a small hand pump, or the user may simply place his mouth to the valve and blow into it. As is also conventional in the art, the valve 16 may comprise a small tube 18 and a plug 20 which fitsinto the tube 18 tightly, and which is joined thereto by a flexible plastic hinge 22.

A cover 24 is provided for the umbrella structure which comprises a sheet of flexible material, again water-resistant and water impervious natural fabrics and plastic fabrics being well-known and accepted for this purpose.

In the present embodiment, the cover 24 is circular in plan, and has its outer periphery 26 joined as by heat sealing to an upper portion of the ring 14. However the specific location at which the periphery 26 is joined to the ring 14 is not critical, and is guided primarily by case of manufacture as well as aesthetic appearance. The central portion of the cover 24 is secured to an upper portion of the staff 10 and. desirably the upper end of the staff. For this purpose, a cap 28 is joined to said upper end, and in a preferred form, the cap 28 is formed of rubber and frictionally, removably, grips said staff end. The cover 24 has a central aperture 30 of relatively small diameter, and the inner rim of said aperture is fixed in a small groove 32 in the cap 28.

If desired, for both aesthetic reasons and for the purpose of diverting rain, an encircling skirt 34 may be fixed to the outer edge of the ring 14, is substantially coaxial with the ring 14, and extends outwardly and somewhat downwardly from it. For purposes of additional strength, the skirt may be double-walled. The skirt is also useful to hold fastening means and handles, as more fully described subsequently. The skirt 34 may be'joined to the ring 14 as by a line 36 of heat sealing.

The present umbrella construction differs most markedly from prior art umbrellas in that it includes a veil 38 which, similarly to the cover 24, is a sheet of material which extends from the ring 14 to the staff 10. More specifically, the veil 38 in the present form of the umbrella construction is circular in plan, has an outer periphery 40 which joins a lower portion of the ring 14 as by heat sealing, and extends to a portion of the staff b spaced downwardly from the staff and 10a. The veil 38 also made of any flexible material which is natural or synthetic, which would be acceptable for the cover. The cover 24 and the veil 38 are generally taut when the ring is inflated, and the ring is at a level midway between the cover and the veil.

Desirably, the central portion of the veil 38 is removably fixed to the staff portion 10b by a rubber grommet 42. Specifically, the grommet 42 frictionally grips and encircles the staff portion 10b, and has a groove formed on its other periphery which receives the rim 46 of a small diameter central aperture in the veil 38. Immediately above the staff portion 10b, on the staff, there is fixed a downwardly and outwardly protruding shoulder 48. The shoulder 48 is configured so that, when desired, the grommet 42 can be forced downwardly and stretched over the shoulder and after the grommet is in place beyond (below) the shoulder, the grommet, being biased upwardly by the action of the veil, will remain in position. When so desired, the grommet 42 can be worked to again be slipped up the staff over the shoulder 48. However, the shoulder may be eliminated entirely.

It will be appreciated that when the umbrella construction has its ring 14 inflated, and the veil 38 is in its proper location, the ring 14 will tend to expand outwardly in all directions due to the pressure of air therein, and will hold both the cover 24 and the veil 38 relatively tautly. Moreover, the fact that both the cover 24 and the veil 38 are attached to the ring at their peripheries, causes the ring 14 to be constrictedfrom all sides, so that both the cover 24 and the veil 38 exert a confining and thus strengthening pressure on the ring 14. Were it not for the existence of the veil, the ring would be required to have a considerably larger internal diameter to attain the same strength and stiffness.

Air is permitted to flow freely from outside of the veil 38 to the interior of the umbrella structure, between the veil 38 and the cover 24, and for this purpose, one or more large apertures 50 are provided in the veil. The apertures 50 also permit the hand of a user to reach through the veil for internal manipulation of the umbrella structure.

It is important to the present umbrella structure that the pressure in the chamber between the veil 38 and the cover 24 be no greater than atmospheric pressure. In place of the apertures 50, appropriate and conventional valve means may be provided to equalize the pressure within the umbrella structure between the .cover 24 and the veil 38 with atmospheric pressure.

The first embodiment of the present umbrella structure may be converted into a carrying case. For this purpose, a pair of handles 52, formed of strong strips of fabric, are attached to the skirt 34, and desirably the handles are spaced apart 90. Further, a pair of mating fasteners 54 and 56, desirably of the male-female variety, are also attached to the skirt 34 and are spaced apart 180, the handles 52 being between the fasteners and each fastener being 45 from its adjacent handle.

In order to convert the umbrella structure to a carrying case, the ring 14 is deflated by opening the valve 16 to permit air to escape from said ring. Then the staff is removed from both the cap 28 and the grommet 42 by simply sliding the top end 10a of the staff out of the cap 28 and sliding the grommet 42 over the shoulder 48 and off the end of the upper end of the staff. Then, the cover 24 and the veil 38,v hereinafter collectively referred to as the canopy 58, will be in substantially flattened condition. Then the canopy 58 is placed with the cover 24 down, as seen in FIG. 4. The canopy is next folded in half along the fold line A-A shown in FIG. 4, resulting in the configuration shown in FIG. 5. Next, the canopy is folded along the fold line BB in FIG. 5, so that the handles 52 come into substantial alignment with one another and so that the fastener 54 comes into close proximity with its mating fastener 56, whereupon the fasteners are joined. The canopy 58 has now assumed the format of a carrying case 60, as

shown in FIG. 6, whereupon miscellaneous articles as well as the staff 10 may be placed into one or both of the two generally triangularly shaped pockets 62, 64 formed in the canopy.

FIGS. 7 through 12 of the drawings show yet another embodiment 65 of the umbrella construction of the present invention. The form in FIG. 7 is similar to the form shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, and includes a staff 10', a cover 24, an inflatable ring 14, a veil 38', and a skirt 34. The embodiment 65 differs from the embodiment 8 in that the skirt 34' has formed therein a pair of cutout slots 66, the slots 66 being l80 apart as best seen in the top plan view of FIG. 8 and the bottom plan view of FIG. 9. Moreover, the openings 50' in the veil 38 are square, rather than circular as in the previous embodiment. The slots 66 may be reinforced with a double layer of material as at 68. The slots form handles for carrying the umbrella structure when it is in its carrying case mode. The embodiment 65 includes a number of mating fasteners, and specifically three sets of mating fasteners, sets 70, 72, and 74. As best seen in FIG. 9, the fasteners 70a, 72a, and 74a and their mating counterparts 70b, 72b, and 74b lie along circular paths defined by the lines CC and D-D in FIG. 9, the fasteners 70a, 72a, and 74a being located between the handles 66 on one side of the canopy and the fasteners 70b, 72b, and 74b being located on the other side of the canopy between said handles. The canopy 58 is converted into a carrying case mode by first folding the same as shown in FIG. 10, along fold line EE and then along fold line F-F into the somewhat rectangular configuration shown in FIG. 11. At that point, the components of the sets of fasteners 70, 72, and 74 have been brought into close proximity, as seen in FIG. 11, and are coupled. Next, the canopy 58 in the form in FIG. 11 is folded along the fold line G-G of FIG. 11 to form the carrying case 76 shown in FIG. 12. In this form, the carrying case has two generally rectangular pockets 78, 80 which terminate at their bottom portions at the fold line G-G. Again, these pockets may hold the staff as well as any other articles which the user desires to take to any location, and especially the beach.

Still another mode 82 of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 13 through 17. Said mode, asin the previous forms, includes a cover 24", a ring 14", a staff 10", a veil 38", and a skirt 34". The cover 24" of the embodiment 82 differs from the previous embodiments in that it is square in configuration. A set of four handles 86 protrude from the skirt 34" on two parallel sides of the rectangular cover 24". The fastening elements of this form comprise a zipper, one mating tape of the zipper 88 being fixed to one edge of the canopy 58", this being an edge at right angles to the edges from which the handles 86 protrude, while the other zipper tape is fixed to a parallel edge 90 of the canopy 58". After the cover 24" is placed face down on the ground, the canopy 58" is folded in half along the fold line H- H of FIG. 15, into the rectangular configuration shown in FIG. 16, and then the zipper segments are joined in a conventional fashion. Next, the rectangular canopy configuration 58" of FIG. 16 is folded substantially along the fold line [-1 to form a carrying case 92, with two generally rectangular pockets 94, 96, which terminate at their lower ends in said fold line I'I.

A final form of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 of the drawings. This form resembles a beach cabana. The upper segment thereof is essentially identical with the form shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, and therefore need not be again described, except to mention that the structure is somewhat heavier and more rugged than that previously shown. The ring 14" may have an extra valve 101 for faster air evacuation. The staff 10" terminates at its lower end 100 in a pointed tip which penetrates the ground to retain the cabana 98 in place. To the skirt 34" is attached an encircling and depending curtain 100 by means of an encircling zipper 102 or by other conventional fastening means. The curtain has a number of mesh-covered ports 106 to permit visibility from inside of the cabana outwardly.

At the bottom of the curtain 100 is fixed another inflatable ring 108 which is of a diameter greater than the diameter of the ring 14" so that the curtain 100 tapers outwardly and has a geometric configuration of a truncated cone. The ring 108 is also inflatable and when so inflated, is relatively rigid. The curtain 100 is therefore retained in its desired configuration. If desired, the ring 108 may have an internal diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of the ring 14" for purposes of increased strength.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed .without a corresponding use of other features. Ac-

cordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a matter consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

There is claimed:

1. An umbrella construction comprising an umbrella staff, an inflatable ring g i rcum scribing said,s adacent an upper portion ereo a canopy CIIC ar in plan and comprising a sheet of material joined at its outer periphery to the ring, first fastening means detachably fixing a central portion of the canopy to the upper end of the staff, a veil of sheet material joined at its periphery to the ring, second fastening means detachably fixing a central portion of the veil to a portion of the staff spaced downwardly from the upper end of the staff, an aperture in the veil for maintaining the chamber between the cover and the veil at atmospheric pressure, third fastening means comprising a pair of matable elements, each of said elements being fixed to the ring at locations in the range of apart and at least one handle fixed to the canopy adjacent the ring, whereby with the ring in deflated condition, the canopy is foldable on a line connecting said matable elements into a semi-circular shape, is then foldable on a line bisecting said semi-circular shape into a quadrant shape and the elements are then adjacent and matable so that the canopy forms an article carrier having a pair of adjacent triangular pockets. 

1. An umbrella construction comprising an umbrella staff, an inflatable ring circumscribing said staff adjacent an upper portion thereof, a canopy circular in plan and comprising a sheet of material joined at its outer periphery to the ring, first fastening means detachably fixing a central portion of the canopy to the upper end of the staff, a veil of sheet material joined at its periphery to the ring, second fastening means detachably fixing a central portion of the veil to a portion of the staff spaced downwardly from the upper end of the staff, an aperture in the veil for maintaining the chamber between the cover and the veil at atmospheric pressure, third fastening means comprising a pair of matable elements, each of said elements being fixed to the ring at locations in the range of 180* apart and at least one handle fixed to the canopy adjacent the ring, whereby with the ring in deflated condition, the canopy is foldable on a line connecting said matable elements into a semi-circular shape, is then foldable on a line bisecting said semi-circular shape into a quadrant shape and the elements are then adjacent and matable so that the canopy forms an article carrier having a pair of adjacent triangular pockets. 